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Huynh, Yan. "#34. Three Types of Scaffolding: There’s a Scaffold for That" Tankhuynh.com, https://tankhuynh.com/scaffolding-instruction/. Accessed Sep 2 2023.

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Huynh, Yan. "#34. Three Types of Scaffolding: There’s a Scaffold for That" Tankhuynh.com, https://tankhuynh.com/scaffolding-instruction/. Accessed Sep 2 2023.

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This article on scaffolding learning for ELLs is Part 15 of WIDA's Essential Actions Series. Click here to read the first article in the series .

In education, scaffolding doesn't mean literally constructing planks and poles against the side of a building. It's a metaphor for providing students with temporary, supportive structures that, just like in constructing a structure, are "gradually removed as the building nears completion." (Riddett, 2015). When a student demonstrates proficient independence, the scaffold is no longer needed (Gibbons, 2002).
Our ELs' achievement is directly related to my ability to scaffold learning experiences.
Scaffolding is the focus of Action 12 in E ssential Actions: A Handbook for Implementing WIDA's Framework for English Language Development Standards (Gottlieb, 2013). Categorized under three groups - sensory, graphic, or interactive - scaffolding can be incorporated during the lesson cycle or within an assessment task. Without scaffolding, ELs often struggle needlessly to access grade-level content and are less able to perform well academically.

In this article, we'll examine three core kinds of scaffolding and explain how they're best applied.

Research Says

There's a significant body of research around the practice of using scaffolds to support instruction. Here are some key findings found in WIDA's Essential Actions :

Instructional supports empower ELs to achieve academically and access grade-level material (Gottlieb, 2013).

Using a range and variety of instructional support tools enables ELs to engage with grade-level objectives and content (Gottlieb, Katz, & Ernst-Slavit, 2009; Himmele & Himmele, 2009).

Instructional supports can also be built into assessments to empower ELs to express their understanding and demonstrate their skills (Gottlieb, 2006).

The research highlights the need to provide various forms of scaffolding to support instruction and performance on assessments. Learning new content that is often abstract is difficult enough; learning it in an unfamiliar language adds a level of difficulty that native speakers do not experience. Scaffolding provides ELs with greater access to content and facilitates the demonstration of their learning.

Sensory Scaffolding

Sensory scaffolds allow ELs to use their senses to understand abstract concepts or learn new ideas. For most students, using visuals and manipulatives are effective forms of sensory scaffolding because images and gestures contain meaning without a dependence on language. Additionally, for Entering ELs, it's the most effective kind of scaffolding in general because there are fewer language barriers to understanding.

For example, the tactile nature of conducting a science lab invites ELs to manipulate objects in order to construct the meaning of abstract concepts. Besides tactile scaffolds, educators can use visuals as another useful form of instructional aids. Humans are visual learners because, with our eyes, we can take a large amount of information in at once and use it to construct meaning. Like tactile scaffolds, visual aids help students understand abstract concepts easier than printed texts can.

When physical objects and visuals are combined together, they offer even more opportunities to access content. For example, Mr. A (a science teacher) wanted to teach his students the concept of food chains and food webs. He designed an activity where the students received strips of paper that each contained an animal. Students then moved the strips of paper around to reconstruct the food web.

The ELs benefited from physically moving the cards around to internalize how food chains and food webs work. These concepts would have remained abstract for many ELs had they simply read the descriptions.

Interactive Scaffolding

As much as human beings are visual learners, they're also social learners too. This is why in addition to sensory and tactile support, educators should integrate social interaction into the lesson design. For ELs, social scaffolding is an excellent opportunity to use language for meaningful purposes. ELs have to use language and content to discuss ideas, offer observations, and form opinions. In the process, they synthesize content knowledge and internalize language.

Interactive scaffolds are essentially a kind of learning through collaboration, and are best used with ELs who like socializing. My ELs collaborate in these three specific categories: synthesizing knowledge, planning actions, and creating products. There are many easy ways to design student interaction in the lesson cycle. This Edutopia article from Sarah Wike Loyola entitled " In language classrooms, students should be talking " explains why interactive scaffolds are effective and provides a list of five structures we can implement.

Another fantastic interactive scaffold is the jigsaw because it makes students internalize one aspect of the new content, learn to listen carefully when peers present their aspect, and work collaboratively to piece all the things they've learned to create new understanding.

Mr. J's 7th grade history class provides an perfect example of a jigsaw. Wanting students to learn the different parts of a river, he assigned each table group to study a specific part of the river (top, middle, end). Students researched their assigned parts (Researching phase). After a period of researching, he had them form a new groups. This new group had students who were experts from the top, middle, and end groups.

They then shared their research with each other (Presenting phase). Finally, students returned back to their original grouping, and they worked in their groups to formulate a thorough understanding of all the parts of the river (Co-constructing phase). Here is an image to help you visualize Mr. J's jigsaw.

Mr. J could have taken the traditional route to deliver the content, but instead he empowered his students to collaboratively learn content while developing communication and interpersonal skills. I recommend using jigsaw when a unit has a lot of content. This way, the content can be segmented and reinforces learning through inquiry. If you'd like to learn more about the practice, I encourage going directly to Jigsaw Classroom , t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n r e s p o n s i b l e f o r creating the jigsaw itself.

Of all the interactive scaffolds that I use, I prefer Think-Pair-Share (TPS) the most because of how easy it is to implement. To foster comprehensible input , ELs often need to pause during instruction and synthesize the content that was just presented before learning new content. This is when TPS is an effective tool. During Visible Reading , I might ask, "What did you learn from reading the last few paragraphs? Let's do a TPS to synthesize what we learned". I let them think for about a minute. Then they turn to a partner, whom I assign, and share their thinking.

TPS is like a verbal Quick Write . Students are given a prompt, given time to think about it, and then orally share their understanding of it. Their responses are not graded, but they do provide a wealth of formative data on their understanding.

Jennifer Gonzalez, a highly-regarded education blogger, wrote an extensive article about TPS on her blog, Cult of Pedagogy . She consistently produces valuable content that can be easily implemented by the busy teacher.

The most important principle that I want to share about interactive scaffolds is that if something is important for students to internalize, use an interactive scaffold (mainly TPS) to have them verbalize it. If they can correctly articulate it, they've owned it.

Graphic Scaffolding

Scaffolding using graphic supports means teaching through charts, tables, and graphic organizers that morph numbers and data into visual representations. Graphic scaffolds are particularly effective when teachers want to communicate highly abstract concepts or show the relationships between things in a phenomenon.

Because graphic supports are texts with visuals, they should be treated as texts. It's vital that teachers demonstrate close reading skills when explaining charts, graphs, tables, and timelines because it usually takes multiple readings for a student to fully comprehend the graphic's ideas.

Since graphic supports usually lack the storytelling element inherent in visuals, we need to provide more guided support in reading them. The title is often the most important place to start when reading graphs, tables, and charts because it provides the main purpose of the graphic. For example, the table below from a scaffolded science lab report contains a title that orients ELs to the table.

When reading graphs, remind your students to pay careful attention to the "X" and "Y" axis on a graph or read the individual slices of a pie chart. Moreover, because they are highly abstract, I prefer to reserve using them only with ELs who have highly developed cognitive abilities.

Interactive tables - where the teacher designs a table with items the students are to fill in - are the most frequently used form of graphic support employed by content teachers. While charts, graphs, and timelines scaffold ELs' understanding of content knowledge, interactive tables empower ELs to communicate it.

Because tables are a form of writing, they should be treated like an act of reading. Educators have to directly teach ELs how to interact with a table and how to fill the empty spaces. Make sure that students must not be overwhelmed by a number of things the table is asking them to produce. Keep it simple.

The following table was co-created with Mr. Arno to help ELs produce a lab report. Notice how it helps ELs provide the necessary information for the "Materials" section and only asks for two things at a time.

Takeaways

Scaffolding is used to erect stunning buildings. Though we're not in the construction business, we are trying to impart knowledge, skills, and mindsets will serve students long after they've left our classrooms.

Scaffolding helps students develop the skills that they can later call on and build upon in their future endeavors.

Gottlieb, M. (2006). Assessing English language learners: Bridges from language proficiency to academic achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Gottlieb, M., Katz, A., & Ernst-Slavit, G. (2009). Paper to practice: Using the English language proficiency standards in PreK-12 classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Gottlieb, M. (2013). Essential Actions: A Handbook for Implementing WIDA's Framework for English Language Development Standards . Madison: Board of Regents of the U of Wisconsin System.

Himmele, P., & Himmele, W. (2009). The language-rich classroom: A research-based framework for teaching English language learners. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Riddett, C. (2015, April 2). The teaching learning cycle. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/teaching-learning-cycle-christopher-riddett

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#34. Three Types of Scaffolding: There's a Scaffold for That - ELL Strategies | TanKHuynh

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How three types of scaffolding instruction (sensory, graphic, interactive) can empower ELLs to access content and develop academic language skills.

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If a students is found to have no learning disabilities and their challenge is primarily based in their language level, there is much we can do to support them. Two of the most effective metastrategies for this are scaffolding and differentiation.

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Sensory, interactive and graphic scaffolding can all support language learners to grow. Further "Using a range and variety of instructional support tools enables ELs to engage with grade-level objectives and content" (Gottlieb et al, qtd. in Huynh, 2017)

It can also be helpful to think of scaffolding as instuctional or procedural, and scaffolding both of these elements is likely to support ELs to achieve more.

Sensory scaffolds utilize senses, such as sight, to reduce the reliance solely on language for comprehension. For example, we can show a picture of something we're talking about. This example is instructional.

Interactive scaffolds utilise the social nature of learning to support growth. For example, in group learning the combined comprehension skills of students working together can reduce the challenge of a task. This example is procedural.

Graphic scaffolds can likewise help to reduce the language challenge of a task by, for instance, representing information arranged on a graphic organiser. This could be used during instruction, when presenting information, or procedurally allowing the learner to present their own thinking in this way.

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Combining scaffolding with differentiation strategies allows you you are able to meet your students at the various level that suits them, including your LLs. There are many great differentiation resources online such as this series at Read Write Think.

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This strategy guide introduces the concept of using Exit Slips in the classroom to help students reflect on what they have learned and express what or how they are thinking about the new information. Exit Slips easily incorporate writing into the content area classroom and require students to think critically.

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A learner with both language needs and one or more learning disabilities will be supported by the strategies listed in the previous columns. Further, Cindy Perras (LD@School) recommends the following supports for learners with this combination of learning challenges:

Culturally and linguistically responsive teachers

Culturally and linguistically responsive and relevant instruction

A supportive learning environment

Assistance with English language acquisition

Support in general education classrooms

Intensive research-based interventions

Using visuals to reinforce concepts and vocabulary;

Utilizing cooperative learning and peer tutoring;

Use of students' native language strategically when students are floundering;

Providing opportunities for students to practice speaking English in both formal and informal contexts throughout the day; and

Focusing on rich and evocative vocabulary words during lessons so students remain engaged and challenged. The words can serve as vehicles for teaching literary concepts.

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"Language Acquisition Difficulty or Learning Disability? How to Differentiate and Support English Language Learners with a Learning Disability" ldatschool, https://www.ldatschool.ca/language-acquisition-difficulty-or-learning-disability/. Accessed 02 Sep 2023.

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"Language Acquisition Difficulty or Learning Disability? How to Differentiate and Support English Language Learners with a Learning Disability" ldatschool, https://www.ldatschool.ca/language-acquisition-difficulty-or-learning-disability/. Accessed 02 Sep 2023.

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Language Acquisition Difficulty or Learning Disability? How to Differentiate and Support English Language Learners with a Learning Disability - LD@school

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English Language Learners and students with learning disabilities are both at risk for lower achievement in language & literacy, but for differing reasons.

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What is Learning Disability?

A learning disability is a neurological condition that interferes with an individual's ability to store, process, or produce information. It can affect one's ability to read, write, speak, spell, compute math, reason and affect an individual's attention, memory, coordination, social skills and emotional maturity.

Learning disabilities often run in families. They should not be confused with other disabilities such as intellectual disabilities, autism, deafness, blindness, and behavioral disorders. Because learning disabilities cannot be seen, they often go undetected. Recognizing a learning disability is difficult because the severity and characteristics vary. It can be diagnosed with tests which measure intelligence and reading, writing, spelling & math ability. Other disabilities need to be ruled out too.

Parents can help children with learning disabilities achieve success by using strengths, knowing their weaknesses, accepting the condition, getting right diagnosis, offering the necessary concessions, using strategies for dealing with specific difficulties & and having the rational attitude towards the disability and the child.

Types of Specific Learning Disabilities
Affects reading and related language-based processing skills.
Dyslexia can affect reading fluency, decoding, reading comprehension, recall, writing, spelling, and sometimes speech and can exist along with other related disorders. Dyslexia can be considered as a Language-Based Learning Disability.

Signs and Symptoms
Difficulty in reading, reads slowly.

Experiences decoding errors.

Shows wide disparity between listening and reading comprehension of same text.

Has trouble with spelling.

Exhibits difficulty recalling known words.

May have trouble with math computations.

Substitutes one small sight word for another: a, I, he, the, there, was.

Strategies to help
Provide a quiet area for activities like reading, answering comprehension questions.

Encourage audio books.

Use books with large print.

Provide a copy of lecture notes.

Don't cut marks for spelling errors.

Allow the use of a laptop or other computer for in-class essays.

Use multi-sensory teaching methods

Teach students to use logic rather than rote memory.

Present material in small units.

Dyscalculia affects a person's ability to understand numbers and learn math facts.

Signs and Symptoms
Shows difficulty understanding concepts of place value, and quantity, number lines, positive and negative value, carrying and borrowing.

Has difficulty understanding and doing word problems.

Has difficulty sequencing information.

Exhibits difficulty using steps involved in math operations.

Shows difficulty understanding fractions.

Is challenged making change and handling money.

Displays difficulty recognizing patterns when adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

Has difficulty putting language to math processes.

Has difficulty understanding concepts related to time such as days, weeks, months, seasons, quarters, etc.

Exhibits difficulty organizing problems on the page, keeping numbers lined up, following through on long division problems.

Dysgraphia affects a person's ability to write and fine motor skills.
He may have illegible handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor spatial planning, poor spelling, and difficulty composing writing.

Signs and Symptoms
Shows inconsistent writing.

Inconsistent spacing between words and letters.

Illegible printing and cursive writing.

Has unfinished words or omitted words.

Exhibits strange wrist, body or paper position.

Has difficulty pre-visualizing letter formation,

Copying or writing is slow or labored.

Individuals with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) find it difficult to recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard.

Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVD or NVLD), is a disorder which is usually characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial and social skills.

Signs and Symptoms
Clumsy- seems to be constantly "getting in the way,".

Has trouble recognizing nonverbal cues.

May have poor psycho-motor coordination.

May find tying shoes, writing, using scissors a challenge.

Has difficulty coping with changes in routing and transitions.

Has difficulty generalizing previously learned information.

Has difficulty following multi-step instructions.

ADHD - A disorder that includes difficulty staying focused and paying attention, controlling behavior and hyperactivity. Affects, planning, organization, strategizing, attention to details and managing time and space.

Dyspraxia - A disorder which causes problems with movement and coordination, language and speech & executive Functioning.

Memory - Affects storing and later retrieving information or getting information out.

Signs you may see-

Pre-School
Difficulty finding the right word.

Difficulty in remembering rhymes.

Trouble learning numbers, alphabet, days of the week, colors and shapes.

Difficulty following directions or learning routines.

Difficulty controlling pencil, crayons, scissors.

Difficulty with buttoning, zipping, typing skills?

Primary School
Have trouble learning the connection between letters and sounds.

Confuse basic words.

Make consistent reading and spelling errors.

Have trouble learning basic math concepts.

Have trouble learning about sequence.

Have trouble remembering facts.

Middle School
Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills.

With prefixes, suffixes, root words and other spelling.

Organizing his/her bedroom, notebook, papers, and desk.

Keeping up with papers or assignments.

Difficulty with handwriting.

Difficulty with time management.

Difficulty with understanding oral discussions and expressing thoughts aloud.

High School and Adults
Spelling the same word differently in a single document.

Difficulty in reading or writing tasks.

Difficulty with open-ended questions.

Difficulty with memory skills.

Difficulty in adapting skills from one setting to another.

Slow work pace.

Difficulty in grasping abstract concepts.

Misreading information.

Parental Attitude- What can help?

Acknowledge that your child who is having difficulty in school, could have a potential learning disability.

Understand that these children are as or more intelligent as their peers. Only that their brains are wired differently for learning.

Do not label them as slow or lazy.

Get the diagnosis early.

Start early remediation. If they receive appropriate help by the first grade, 90% of them will achieve normal reading ability.

Do not focus on the disability alone, do the needed steps

Enjoy your child & focus on his strengths.

Do not be over anxious and you may transfer the anxiety to the child.

Steps for making diagnosis of LD in Mumbai, India

Write down the difficulties child is facing in academics.

Discuss with class teacher and get summary as well.

See your pediatrician.

Get you child tested from any dyslexia center.

The following tests are performed -

WISC/ MISIC for IQ evaluation

DTLD/ WRAT/Woodcock Johnson's test battery -For academic skills

ADHDt for attention issues

Hearing & Ophthalmic tests to rule out other disability.

Diagnosis can be done in any center, but certification happens in any of the 3 Municipal Hospitals (Sion/Nair/KEMH) and needs a formal letter from school explaining the child's difficulties on a school letterhead.

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What is Learning Disability? A learning disability is a neurological condition that interferes with an individual's ability to store, process, or produce information. It can affect one's ability to read, write, speak, spell, compute math, reason and affect an individual's attention, memory, coordination, social skills and emotional maturity.

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We can get a picture of reality by following the below processes:

Observe the learner's performance and behaviour over time.

Observe the learner is multiple settings and discuss with their other teachers.

Consider if the learner is being force to work outside their ZPD.

Increase language scaffolding & accommodations for language needs.

Investigate if learner struggles to complete similar tasks in their first language.

Talk directly to the learner about what they find challenging.

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“Students should not be assessed as having learning disabilities on the basis of performance or behaviours that reflect a process of language acquisition or acculturation, or a lack of prior opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills being tested”
(Ministry of Education, qtd. in Perras, C.)

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If language scaffolding and other interventions don't appear to support the learner's progress, it may be time to proceed with a appropriate choice from the below procedures.

- Referral to school counselor, school psychologist or other parties responsible for SEN at the school.
- Asking parents to complete National Centre For Learning Disabilities' Checklist and starting a discussion.
- Asking learner's teachers to complete NCLD checklist and comparing results.
- Utilizing NCLD recommendations based on checklist results.
- Sharing checklist results with paediatrician/medical professional and seeking advice.
- Medical and neurological evaluation.

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The LD checklist is a list of potential indicators that a child may have a learning disability. The checklist does not diagnose, but it does serve to begin the inquiry conversation and investigation when an LD is suspected.

The LD checklist can be used in different ways:

to get parents involved in the discussion

for teachers to complete and compare their findings.

to share the list with a specialist to seek advice.

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To the learning disabled community, and our allies,

Our students are in a mental health crisis, one that disproportionately impacts students with learning disabilities. A 2019 CDC report indicated 33% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. This number jumped to 44% during the pandemic. For those of us in the learning disability community, mental health issues permeate our everyday lives. The limited research we have supports a strong correlation between learning disabilities and mental health disorders. For example, one study found that individuals with learning disabilities report mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation at twice the rate of their non-disabled peers, even controlling for possible confounding factors. Another meta-analytic study shows varying rates of comorbidity, from 8% to 46.3%, for ADHD and anxiety among students with LD.

Yet, the causal relationship between mental health and learning disabilities is still poorly understood. The topic of mental health rates in the LD community came up time and time again in conversations among our Young Adult Leadership Council members, where for many of us mental health struggles are woven throughout our LD stories. We write this letter first as a note of acknowledgement to the LD community, second to bring awareness of this issue to a broader global community, and third to call in parents, teachers, policy makers, and researchers to help us address this issue.

Generally, poor mental health is associated with challenges with decision making, difficulty in school, difficulty forming positive relationships, and other risky or potentially harmful behaviors. Dual-disability diagnoses present even greater challenges, as many experience persistent stress, anxiety,, trauma, bullying, internalizing problems, and feelings of social isolation as they navigate a world with learning disabilities and mental health disorders. These negative experiences are especially concerning when you consider that almost one-third of incarcerated individuals report having a learning disability, and mental health issues affect approximately half of the incarcerated populations.

"Not being diagnosed until recently as an adult, I never understood why I struggled like I did. However, after my diagnosis, I realized that my anxiety and depressive episodes contributed to my perfectionism and impulsive choices. Undiagnosed individuals with ADHD face the harsh reality of being prone to depression and anxiety. It could lead someone to a pathway of substance abuse and impulsive decision making that can have serious consequences. When you live in a world where people don't understand individuals with attention issues, it can make you feel like something is inherently wrong with you, which can also contribute to depression."
-Misha Nicholas

We know that students with LD report more issues with mental health. However, that is the extent of the research. We do not know the cause of these lower mental health rates in students with learning disabilities. Anecdotal reports by students with LD suggest that many experience educational trauma. We need research in order to know the extent and impact of this educational trauma. Is educational trauma a risk factor for poor mental health?

As members and activists on the National Center for Learning Disabilities' Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC), we feel it is imperative to kick-start a solution-driven mental health initiative focused on the intersectionality of learning disabilities and mental health disorders. Many of us navigate life as learning disabled people struggling with mental health. Research suggests that promoting a sense of belonging and peer social support within schools can protect learning disabled individuals from many documented negative outcomes. Yet, many of us experienced various forms of educational trauma throughout education in the form of persistent academic failure, feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, bullying, social isolation, and ridicule. Educational trauma refers to the perpetual pattern of harmful cycles within educational systems that detrimentally affect academic and emotional outcomes.

"The humiliation, bullying, and systematic exclusion was shattering beyond words. Eventually the educational trauma I experienced became a bigger barrier to learning than my actual learning disability."
-Erin

Many young adults with learning disabilities describe their K-12 educational experiences as traumatic. They describe feelings of being misunderstood. Often, they report that those around them failed to understand their learning and mental health struggles, as they lacked the words to describe the shame they felt to the adults and peers in their lives. These struggles span well beyond weaknesses in reading, writing, and math. Mental health and learning disabilities are interwoven, and these challenges follow learning disabled individuals as they transition out of high school and into postsecondary education and the workplace.

"It was not until undergrad that I learned that it isn't normal to feel like you can't breathe every time before attempting homework."
-Stevie Mays

Many learning disabled people report feeling unsafe and like they do not belong in the classroom. In talking with almost any learning disabled person, they will tell you that their learning disability has impacted them far beyond just their struggle with learning skills like math and reading. They will tell you that existing as a learning disabled person impacts one's whole experience with the world, how the world interacts with them, and how they interact with the world. Yes, it's important for us to help LD students in academic areas like reading and writing. But if we fail to look beyond academics, at the whole person, we miss an entire aspect of the learning disabled experience. We miss what it actually means to exist as a learning disabled person.

"At age 16, as everyone around me wrote in fine penmanship, I felt like a child still writing with red crayon. It didn't matter what or how well I wrote - I wasn't allowed to belong."
-Brody

What are you doing personally to better understand and address the experiences of the learning disabled community and why our peers are pushed out of schools, into the prison system, into low-wage careers, and, in the best case, into college settings that don't support us?

We need to talk about mental illness for what it is: a disability. A disability that deserves the same support and focus as dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning disabilities.

Our dyslexia, anxiety, ADHD, depression, dysgraphia, PTSD, and more are disabilities that need support, understanding, and recognition. Many of us on the YALC say that finding the LD community was the key to us feeling like we finally understood ourselves and were able to come out of our shame. We found strength in our shared experiences and were able to name many of our experiences for what they were: educational trauma. In doing so we found our voice, not only to share our stories but to advocate for our community as a whole.

To the LD person reading this, we see and empathize with your struggles. We encourage you to seek out your LD community and embrace your disability identity. The disability label (including mental health and learning disabilities) give you access to support and treatment. It also comes with a community that wants to welcome you in.

Finally, this letter is a call to action - a call to our researchers, policy makers, educators, and parents and caregivers to better understand, address, and find solutions for the mental health needs of individuals with learning disabilities.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!

For researchers:

Include mental health as measures in your data collection, and mental health disabilities as covariates.

Research educational trauma, including its prevalence and impact on students with learning disabilities.

Conduct holistic research on the experiences of LD students beyond our academic success, and understand the impact on our non-academic lives.

Research the intersection of mental health and learning disabilities, and specifically the experiences of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and historically marginalized groups.

Include LD people in your research process beyond them being research subjects. Ensure that learning disabled people are a part of the research design process. Get feedback from the LD community and ensure that the research questions you ask are aligned with the values of the community you're studying. Hire LD people in your labs and centers so a good percentage of the next generation of people studying LD are LD themselves.

For policy makers:

Increase funding for early identification, treatment, and psychological support within schools. We need well-funded school-based mental health programs, school psychologists, counselors, and social workers.

Keep your promise and fully fund IDEA, after over 40 years of never doing so.

Ban the practices of seclusion and restraint that have harmed and oppressed disabled students for decades.

For educators:

Many of your students are walking into your classroom with years of educational trauma. You can end it. Focus on students' strengths while also acknowledging and building solutions to address our weaknesses, and listen to students when they are brave in sharing their experiences.

Be aware of the interconnectedness of mental health and learning disabilities, and work with us to create strategies that address what we need and prevent negative outcomes.

Avoid terms such as "lazy" when you talk about your disabled students. We aren't lazy. We're trying our best.

For parents and caregivers:

Talk about mental health with us, and help us own our identities as members of the disability community.

Look for early warning signs of mental health issues and teach us to be self-advocates, so that when we're on our own, we've got the skills to stand up for ourselves and the things we need to be successful learners.

For the learning disabled community:

Embrace your learning disability identity. Don't be afraid to use the language of disability. Taboo and stigma lead people to use euphemisms. But ultimately, our legal rights and our connection to community depend on identifying as disabled. We can end the stigma and taboo of being disabled by embracing this community.

Be willing to talk about how mental health impacts you in school. We are functioning in school systems that are not designed for us and that "others" us constantly. Allowing yourself to get support is the greatest gift you can give to yourself. We know it's hard to stick out as the one using accommodations, but you'll be glad you did.

Understand that you'll need to self-advocate for both your LD and your mental health. This may look like telling your parents and educators what you need in a classroom setting to succeed. This means attending your IEP meeting and making sure your accommodations reflect your needs.

This call to action only scratches the surface of a larger conversation. Our voice matters. Join us in amplifying this initiative by signing below.

Sincerely,

The Young Adult Leadership Council

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Early recognition of warning signs is critical to helping those with LD succeed in school, work, and life! That's why @ncldorg developed The LD Checklist: Recognize and Respond to raise awareness of the potential signs of having learning disabilities. #Check4LD

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When a special educational need is identified an IEP (Individualised Education Plan) should be made. It should include the elements listed above. Key elements include the data on the learners PLOP (present level of performance), and the accommodations that will be made to support their integration and learning in the general classroom, as well as any additional special classes that may be needed.

Another key part of an IEP is the collaborative involvement of the IEP team, which should consist of the below individuals.

the parents

general education teacher

school administrators

special education teacher

(optional) psychologist

(Youtube, Understood)

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It can be hard to know if a learner's challenge is rooted in their language needs, if the may have a learning disability, or even if both issues might be a factor. ELLs and learners with an LD may appear to experience similar challenges during learning. We therefore need to carefully consider and investigate the causes of the learner's challenges. We should therefore investigate using the methods outlined in step 3, and step 4 if deemed necessary.

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Ask yourself if your student exhibits behaviours which indicate they are struggling.

Behaviours may include:

avoiding participation in class

becoming frustrated or angry

poor results/performance

not keeping notes

missing assignment deadlines

poor time management

avoiding peer interaction

distracting themself or others

leaving the room for longer than necessary

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Kesherim, Ruben. "31 Learning Disabilities Statistics, Prevalence & Facts" Supportive Care Aba, https://www.supportivecareaba.com/statistics/learning-disabilities. Accessed 02 Sept 2023.

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Kesherim, Ruben. "31 Learning Disabilities Statistics, Prevalence & Facts" Supportive Care Aba, https://www.supportivecareaba.com/statistics/learning-disabilities. Accessed 02 Sept 2023.

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Learning Disability vs. Intellectual Disability

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Learning Disability vs. Intellectual Disability

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"An intellectual disability is not the same as a learning disability. An intellectual disability refers to when somebody has a developmental disorder (ie. autism), whereas a learning disability refers to when a person has difficulty learning in specific academic areas (ie. dyslexia)"
(St. Jude's Health care Services)

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- Around 15% of the US population (1 in 7) has a form of learning disability.
- Dyslexia (affecting reading and spelling) is the most commonly diagnosed LD.
(Kesherim, R. 2023)

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Learn about intellectual disability, including symptoms, risk factors, treatment options and answers to common questions.

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Is an Intellectual Disability the Same As a Learning Disability?

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Is an Intellectual Disability the Same As a Learning Disability? If you know someone who is exhibiting signs of a disability, and you are confused by the available information, and unsure whether they may have an intellectual disability or a learning disability - then this article should help you understand.

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"Over- and under-identification of ELLs with disabilities" Youtube, uploaded by Colorin Colorado, 18 Oct 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0pPZS__G10.

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"Over- and under-identification of ELLs with disabilities" Youtube, uploaded by Colorin Colorado, 18 Oct 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0pPZS__G10.

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Over- and under-identification of ELLs with disabilities

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"What Is an IEP? | Individualized Education Program Explained" Youtube, uploaded by Understood, 28 Oct 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGYO9XWhI2Y.

# data[].attributes.subject
"What Is an IEP? | Individualized Education Program Explained" Youtube, uploaded by Understood, 28 Oct 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGYO9XWhI2Y.

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What Is an IEP? | Individualized Education Program Explained

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- Intellectual ability affects 1% of US population
- 85% are mild disability (15% moderate or severe)
- Males more likely to be diagnosed
- Mild intellectual disability may not be identified until child struggles with academics in school
- Diagnosis helps identify best supports for individuals
(Psychiatry.org)

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- Over-identification of special educational needs takes place is places with a high number of language learners.
- SEN experts are not always prepared to factor in second language proficiency into diagnoses.
- Conversely, under-identification takes place as a result of blaming slow development on language, as well as fear of over-identification.
(Youtube, Colorin Colorado)

Takeaway: As those who know the student best, we must be rigorous in student assessment using many data points before jumping to conclusions, but we must also be unafraid to seek expert opinion.